Finally...the comparison
09-13-2010, 01:41 PM
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Finally...the comparison
A few days ago, I decided to visit my local Nissan dealership to test a 370Z. I've been wanting to do this for a while, so I could compare it to my RX8. At first, I didn't want to go, but since I was out running errands, I decided to put an end to wanting to compare the two models, besides I didn't hurt to look.
I drove onto the parking lot and the salesmen saw new meat. Some looked at me as if they were asking, "What the heck does he want?" "Is he gonna trade that thang?" Some looked as if I have just violated sacred 370Z ground and thus I should be punished. After getting out of my RX8 that I parked front and center, I walked over towards some 370zs that were all lined up. All of them were '10 models and they included a silver NISMO, one black touring coupe, a blue touring coupe, a red base model and an pearl white cabrio with wine top with touring pkg. A salesman promptly greeted me and asked if he could assist. I told him that I was interested in a "Z" He pointed out the NISMO first and I told him that it looked a little too over the top for me. I scanned the line and dismissed black, the cabrio. and the blue. I settled on the red base model cuz it was the only one besides, the cabrio., that was an automatic. I wanted to see how the auto stacked up and besides, (I've been driving manuals for over 20 years, and I'm tired of shifting)
Anywho, I told him that I was interested in the red one. He asked a few questions ( the typical ones that a salesperson asks, like....are you gonna trade your RX8?) I said, "No, this will be an addition to instead of a replacement of." Knowing full well that I was not going to get one. I told him that I've read that the Z's engine is rough and loud. He said that he hadn't heard anything like that, but the best way for me to see if that were true would be to try if for myself. I agreed. Afterwards, he went inside and grabbed the keys. After settling in the driver's seat, I immediately noticed how cramped it was. I know, it's a 2-seater, what should I expect? I'm a small guy ~5'5" and it seemed cramped. The controls were like right on me...all in my face. It was weird. They had a nice weight though. As I drove, I ripped through the gears of the auto and they changed very quickly, but that engine! It was very powerful, but you payed a price. That price being the vibrations around 5 grand and the buzz, as you got higher in the rev. band the vibrations and buzz escalated. It was barely tolerable IMO. I told the salesman that I noticed a lot of tire noise and as the roads got rougher, the noise became more of a nuissance. I heard everything! Rocks, expansion joints cracks and I could even swear, butterfly wings. All just magnified and resonated through the cabin. I had the stereo playing, but the noise drowned almost all of it out. I began to wonder if Nissan put any insulation in the fender wells! I was very annoyed.
After my test drive, we returned to the dealership and I felt like I was just beat up. I got out and gave it the once-over. Starting from the hood and looking at the engine, which sat directly 0N the front axle, it was huge...as compared to my rotary at least. Ending at the trunk, I noticed almost no trunk space. It was rediculous. It looked as if you couldn't even fit a bag of groceries back there. Overall, out of 5 stars, I'll give the Z a 3.
I told the salesman, "Thank you" and he handed me his card. I happily got back into my 8 and I deciphered what just happened while I was driving home. My personal conclusion is that the 8 is superior to the Z. The rotary is millions of miles smoother, the seating position is better, the placement of the controls and pedals is superior. Although Nissan has improved the Z's interior vastly over the previous model, I think that RX8's is still a tick better. The Z's engine is more powerful than the 8's, but you easily pay the price because to me, it's engine sounds like something that should be doing duty in a piece for farm equipment while the rotary makes these wonderful dare I say, subliminal sounds of a finely crafted machine. So what if the rotary gets stinkiy gas mileage, so what if I loves petroleum products and it's acceleration is something to be desired (don't flame guys), so what if it gets on my nerves, when something out of the blue breaks or a warning light goes off and I can't find the reason why it did, but it's its atheleticism and smoothness in which it does it's business that makes that car great, and I don't need to tell ya'll this, if you own an RX8, then you already know. Although the rotary is better than the Z's V6 IMO, Mazda still needs to work on it's Achille's heal and make those shortcomings a thing of the past. So in conclusion, the RX8 is better than the Z...In my opinion that is. My car is a 2004 and I love it more than that 2010 Z. Is it because I prefer refinement and character, as well as good looks? Maybe. Or is it because I find the inner beauty of this car grows on me still to this day? Most definitely. Oh yeah, those are the reasons why I bought it those many years ago.
I drove onto the parking lot and the salesmen saw new meat. Some looked at me as if they were asking, "What the heck does he want?" "Is he gonna trade that thang?" Some looked as if I have just violated sacred 370Z ground and thus I should be punished. After getting out of my RX8 that I parked front and center, I walked over towards some 370zs that were all lined up. All of them were '10 models and they included a silver NISMO, one black touring coupe, a blue touring coupe, a red base model and an pearl white cabrio with wine top with touring pkg. A salesman promptly greeted me and asked if he could assist. I told him that I was interested in a "Z" He pointed out the NISMO first and I told him that it looked a little too over the top for me. I scanned the line and dismissed black, the cabrio. and the blue. I settled on the red base model cuz it was the only one besides, the cabrio., that was an automatic. I wanted to see how the auto stacked up and besides, (I've been driving manuals for over 20 years, and I'm tired of shifting)
Anywho, I told him that I was interested in the red one. He asked a few questions ( the typical ones that a salesperson asks, like....are you gonna trade your RX8?) I said, "No, this will be an addition to instead of a replacement of." Knowing full well that I was not going to get one. I told him that I've read that the Z's engine is rough and loud. He said that he hadn't heard anything like that, but the best way for me to see if that were true would be to try if for myself. I agreed. Afterwards, he went inside and grabbed the keys. After settling in the driver's seat, I immediately noticed how cramped it was. I know, it's a 2-seater, what should I expect? I'm a small guy ~5'5" and it seemed cramped. The controls were like right on me...all in my face. It was weird. They had a nice weight though. As I drove, I ripped through the gears of the auto and they changed very quickly, but that engine! It was very powerful, but you payed a price. That price being the vibrations around 5 grand and the buzz, as you got higher in the rev. band the vibrations and buzz escalated. It was barely tolerable IMO. I told the salesman that I noticed a lot of tire noise and as the roads got rougher, the noise became more of a nuissance. I heard everything! Rocks, expansion joints cracks and I could even swear, butterfly wings. All just magnified and resonated through the cabin. I had the stereo playing, but the noise drowned almost all of it out. I began to wonder if Nissan put any insulation in the fender wells! I was very annoyed.
After my test drive, we returned to the dealership and I felt like I was just beat up. I got out and gave it the once-over. Starting from the hood and looking at the engine, which sat directly 0N the front axle, it was huge...as compared to my rotary at least. Ending at the trunk, I noticed almost no trunk space. It was rediculous. It looked as if you couldn't even fit a bag of groceries back there. Overall, out of 5 stars, I'll give the Z a 3.
I told the salesman, "Thank you" and he handed me his card. I happily got back into my 8 and I deciphered what just happened while I was driving home. My personal conclusion is that the 8 is superior to the Z. The rotary is millions of miles smoother, the seating position is better, the placement of the controls and pedals is superior. Although Nissan has improved the Z's interior vastly over the previous model, I think that RX8's is still a tick better. The Z's engine is more powerful than the 8's, but you easily pay the price because to me, it's engine sounds like something that should be doing duty in a piece for farm equipment while the rotary makes these wonderful dare I say, subliminal sounds of a finely crafted machine. So what if the rotary gets stinkiy gas mileage, so what if I loves petroleum products and it's acceleration is something to be desired (don't flame guys), so what if it gets on my nerves, when something out of the blue breaks or a warning light goes off and I can't find the reason why it did, but it's its atheleticism and smoothness in which it does it's business that makes that car great, and I don't need to tell ya'll this, if you own an RX8, then you already know. Although the rotary is better than the Z's V6 IMO, Mazda still needs to work on it's Achille's heal and make those shortcomings a thing of the past. So in conclusion, the RX8 is better than the Z...In my opinion that is. My car is a 2004 and I love it more than that 2010 Z. Is it because I prefer refinement and character, as well as good looks? Maybe. Or is it because I find the inner beauty of this car grows on me still to this day? Most definitely. Oh yeah, those are the reasons why I bought it those many years ago.
09-13-2010, 02:06 PM
#2
When I was in the military I had a neighbor that had a 350z. He was hit in a parking lot by someone going about 10mph. The damage looked like he had just been in a major crash. The door was jammed shut, and the front fender nearly ripped off.
09-13-2010, 03:10 PM
#4
Sounds like my old experience with a 350Z. Could count the things on one hand that I liked about it. Too rough, too expensive, and its like nobody at Nissan actually drove the car to fine tune it or see if any of the ergonomics made any sense. Big reason why I think Nissan kept making updates to the car every couple years.
09-13-2010, 03:27 PM
#5
The RX-8 is missed
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move along, move along people, nothing new to read here...
good info though, just seems to echo what everyone says about it: rock solid performance but beats you up in the process.
good info though, just seems to echo what everyone says about it: rock solid performance but beats you up in the process.
09-13-2010, 04:13 PM
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I've had my 370 for a little over a year now and, in my opinion, the only really accurate observations in the above "comparison" are the lack of sound proofing in the wheel wells and the large amount of ambient noise that intrudes into the cabin. The engine is not "rough and loud," though some in the automotive press have claimed that the convertible version in particular has greater NVH than, say, a Boxter. I find the visceral nature of the engine to be a joy - a nice counter point to the ultra-smooth, high revving rotary. The cabin is quite comfortable, though I suppose it might seem cramped at first due to the high belt line and decreased visibility. At 5'5" tall, the OP would feel this more keenly.
I like my RX-8 better. I actually like it a lot better, because it more closely matches what I want in a car. But, honestly, the above comparison is superficial at best.
A while back I posted some thoughts on the two cars. I agree that this has been beat to death, but if anyone is interested, here is the link:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...71#post3421671
I like my RX-8 better. I actually like it a lot better, because it more closely matches what I want in a car. But, honestly, the above comparison is superficial at best.
A while back I posted some thoughts on the two cars. I agree that this has been beat to death, but if anyone is interested, here is the link:
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...71#post3421671
09-13-2010, 04:22 PM
#7
Honestly, I love the Nissan VQ series V6 for its longevity, durability, power band and reliability. It produces lots of torque, and it's just a bulletproof design.
But the 350/370 chassis disappoints IMO.
Yes, Nissan has improved fit and finish and ride quality in the latest iteration of the Z, but the Z STILL can best be described as 'Japanese Camaro' as far as I'm concerned. It still feels lumpy and does not transition unsprung weight well in fast corners - at least not compared to the 8. It needs to make up time on the straights due to this deficit (I believe Top Gear tracked the 8 and Z -in 3.5 form, a couple years ago - at nearly identical times).
The Z has worse ride quality AND handling (the brilliance of the 8 lies here, IMO - superior handling while being a suitable daily driver), interior noise levels, interior trim (still, even with the improvements), practicality (interior space) and chassis dynamics than the 8.
The Z bests the 8 in HP (both at the motor and at the rear wheels), torque, and fuel economy (especially on the highway at high speeds, where the 8's very high rev engine kills fuel economy at speeds above 75mph).
But the 350/370 chassis disappoints IMO.
Yes, Nissan has improved fit and finish and ride quality in the latest iteration of the Z, but the Z STILL can best be described as 'Japanese Camaro' as far as I'm concerned. It still feels lumpy and does not transition unsprung weight well in fast corners - at least not compared to the 8. It needs to make up time on the straights due to this deficit (I believe Top Gear tracked the 8 and Z -in 3.5 form, a couple years ago - at nearly identical times).
The Z has worse ride quality AND handling (the brilliance of the 8 lies here, IMO - superior handling while being a suitable daily driver), interior noise levels, interior trim (still, even with the improvements), practicality (interior space) and chassis dynamics than the 8.
The Z bests the 8 in HP (both at the motor and at the rear wheels), torque, and fuel economy (especially on the highway at high speeds, where the 8's very high rev engine kills fuel economy at speeds above 75mph).
09-13-2010, 05:49 PM
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Plus it's more bakon $$$$. And nowdays who has extra grands of the money?
Nissan has oil consumption problemn in early 350z rev-up engine but they don't give extended warranty like Mazda. They do some exchange hush hush without a recall.
Nissan has oil consumption problemn in early 350z rev-up engine but they don't give extended warranty like Mazda. They do some exchange hush hush without a recall.
09-14-2010, 01:50 AM
#11
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Only with the M/T which runs 20 mph per 1000 rpm in 6th. The A/T runs 30 mph per 1000 rpm in 6th. For example this equates to running about 60 mph @ 3000 rpm in the M/T, but about 90 mph @ 3000 rpm in the A/T.
09-18-2010, 01:01 AM
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